{"id":329526,"date":"2021-08-23T18:00:04","date_gmt":"2021-08-23T15:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-to-lock-cells-in-microsoft-excel-to-prevent-editing\/"},"modified":"2021-08-23T18:00:04","modified_gmt":"2021-08-23T15:00:04","slug":"how-to-lock-cells-in-microsoft-excel-to-prevent-editing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-lock-cells-in-microsoft-excel-to-prevent-editing\/","title":{"rendered":"#How to Lock Cells in Microsoft Excel to Prevent Editing"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2ed914f30c0\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2ed914f30c0\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-lock-cells-in-microsoft-excel-to-prevent-editing\/#Enabling_or_Disabling_Cell_Lock_Protection_in_Excel\" >Enabling or Disabling Cell Lock Protection in Excel<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-lock-cells-in-microsoft-excel-to-prevent-editing\/#How_to_Disable_Cell_Lock_Protection_in_Excel\" >How to Disable Cell Lock Protection in Excel<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-lock-cells-in-microsoft-excel-to-prevent-editing\/#Enabling_Worksheet_Protection_in_Excel\" >Enabling Worksheet Protection in Excel<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-lock-cells-in-microsoft-excel-to-prevent-editing\/#How_to_Enable_Worksheet_Protection_in_Excel\" >How to Enable Worksheet Protection in Excel<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-lock-cells-in-microsoft-excel-to-prevent-editing\/#How_to_Remove_Worksheet_Protection_in_Excel\" >How to Remove Worksheet Protection in Excel<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><strong>&#8220;#How to Lock Cells in Microsoft Excel to Prevent Editing&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage alignnone size-full wp-image-731027\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/MS-excel-logo-675.png?width=398&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1 400w, https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/MS-excel-logo-675.png?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, 400w, 1200w\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/MS-excel-logo-675.png?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Microsoft Excel Logo\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>If you want to restrict editing in a Microsoft Excel worksheet to certain areas, you can lock cells to do so. You can block edits to individual cells, larger cell ranges, or entire worksheets, depending on your requirements. Here\u2019s how.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Enabling_or_Disabling_Cell_Lock_Protection_in_Excel\"><\/span>Enabling or Disabling Cell Lock Protection in Excel<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>There are two stages to preventing changes to cells in an Excel worksheet.<\/p>\n<p>First, you\u2019ll need to choose the cells that you\u00a0want to allow edits to and disable the \u201cLocked\u201d setting. You\u2019ll then need to enable worksheet protection\u00a0in Excel to block changes to any other cells.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>How to Protect Workbooks, Worksheets, and Cells From Editing in Microsoft Excel<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>By default, Excel will assume that, when you \u201cprotect\u201d a worksheet from editing, you want to prevent any changes to all of its cells. If this is the case, you can skip to the next section.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_Disable_Cell_Lock_Protection_in_Excel\"><\/span>How to Disable Cell Lock Protection in Excel<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>To allow or block changes to cells in Excel, open your Excel workbook to the sheet you\u2019re looking to edit.<\/p>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve selected the worksheet, you\u2019ll need to identify the cells you want to allow users to modify once your worksheet is locked down.<\/p>\n<p>You can select individual cells or select a larger range of cells. Right-click the selected cells and select \u201cFormat Cells\u201d from the pop-up menu to proceed.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-739344\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Excel-Format-Cells-Menu-Option.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"To enable or disable lock protection to Excel cells, select the cells you wish to allow changes to, right-click and select the &quot;Format Cells&quot; option.\" width=\"381\" height=\"394\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>In the \u201cFormat Cells\u201d menu, select the \u201cProtection\u201d tab. Uncheck the \u201cLocked\u201d checkbox to allow changes to those cells once you\u2019ve protected your worksheet, then press \u201cOK\u201d to save your choice.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-739345\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Excel-Locked-Cell-Setting.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"In the &quot;Protection&quot; tab, uncheck the &quot;Locked&quot; checkbox to disable lock protection for that cell, then press &quot;OK&quot; to save.\" width=\"514\" height=\"564\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>With the \u201cLocked\u201d setting removed, the cells you\u2019ve selected will accept changes when you\u2019ve locked your worksheet. Any other cells will, by default, block any changes once worksheet protection is activated.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Enabling_Worksheet_Protection_in_Excel\"><\/span>Enabling Worksheet Protection in Excel<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Only cells with the \u201cLocked\u201d setting removed will\u00a0accept changes once worksheet protection is activated. Excel will block any attempt to make changes to other cells in your worksheet with this protection enabled, which you can activate by following the steps below.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_Enable_Worksheet_Protection_in_Excel\"><\/span>How to Enable Worksheet Protection in Excel<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>To enable worksheet protection, open your Excel workbook and select the worksheet you want to restrict. From the ribbon bar, select\u00a0Review &gt; Protect Sheet.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-739346\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Excel-Protect-Sheet-Option.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Select Review &gt; Protect Sheet to enable lock protection for your active worksheet.\" width=\"581\" height=\"142\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>In the pop-up menu, you can provide a password to restrict changes to the sheet you\u2019re locking, although this is optional. Type a password into the text boxes provided if you want to do this.<\/p>\n<p>By default, Excel will allow users to select locked cells, but no other changes to the cells (including formatting changes) are permitted. If you want to change this, select one of the checkboxes in the section below. For example, if you want to allow a user to delete a row containing locked cells, enable the \u201cDelete Rows\u201d checkbox.<\/p>\n<p>When you\u2019re ready, make sure that the \u201cProtect Worksheet and Contents of Locked Cells\u201d checkbox is enabled, then press \u201cOK\u201d to save your changes and lock the worksheet.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-739347 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Excel-Protect-Sheet-Options.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"In the &quot;Protect Sheet&quot; box, provide a password (if required), enable the &quot;Protect worksheet and contents of locked cells&quot; checkbox, confirm the changes you want to allow, then press &quot;OK&quot; to save.\" width=\"282\" height=\"368\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>If you decided to use a password to protect your sheet, you\u2019ll need to confirm your changes using it. Type the password you provided into the \u201cConfirm Password\u201d box and press \u201cOK\u201d to confirm.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-739348\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Excel-Lock-Sheet-Confirm-Password.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"If you're locking an Excel worksheet with a password, confirm the password in the &quot;Confirm Password&quot; box and press &quot;OK&quot; to save.\" width=\"336\" height=\"225\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve locked your worksheet, any attempts to make changes to locked cells will result in an error message.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-739349\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Excel-Locked-Cell-Error-Message.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"An example of an Excel error message following an attempt to edit a locked cell.\" width=\"648\" height=\"187\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll need to remove the worksheet protection if you wish to make any changes to locked cells afterwards.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_Remove_Worksheet_Protection_in_Excel\"><\/span>How to Remove Worksheet Protection in Excel<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve saved your changes, only the cells you\u2019ve unlocked (if you\u2019ve unlocked any) will allow changes. If you want to unlock other cells, you\u2019ll need to select Review &gt; Unprotect Sheet from the ribbon bar and provide the password (if used) to remove worksheet protection.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-739350\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Excel-Unprotect-Sheet-Option.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"To remove lock protection from an Excel worksheet, press Review &gt; Unprotect Sheet.\" width=\"535\" height=\"144\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>If your worksheet is protected with a password, confirm the password by typing it into the \u201cUnprotect Sheet\u201d text box, then press \u201cOK\u201d to confirm.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-739351\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Excel-Unprotect-Sheet-Password-Prompt.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Type your password into the &quot;Unprotect Sheet&quot; box, then press &quot;OK&quot; to confirm.\" width=\"304\" height=\"145\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>This will remove any restrictions to your worksheet, allowing you to make changes to previously locked cells. If you\u2019re a Google Docs user, you can protect Google Sheets cells from edits\u00a0in a similar way.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>How to Protect Cells From Editing in Google Sheets<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. 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You can block edits to individual cells, larger cell ranges, or entire worksheets, depending on your requirements. Here\u2019s how. Enabling or Disabling Cell Lock&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":329527,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/MS-excel-logo-675.png?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-329526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=329526"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329526\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/329527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=329526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}